A small vintage circus dancer puppet in a leaping pose on a red fringe-covered platform.
A small vintage circus dancer puppet in a leaping pose on a red fringe-covered platform.

Alexander Calder, Calder's Circus (detail), 1926-31 (installation view, High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 18, 2025–March 9, 2026). Wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half the funds were contributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional major donations were given by The Lauder Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The T. M. Evans Foundation, Inc.; MacAndrews & Forbes Group, Incorporated; the DeWitt Wallace Fund, Inc.; Martin and Agneta Gruss; Anne Phillips; Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. Rockefeller; the Simon Foundation, Inc.; Marylou Whitney; Bankers Trust Company; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Dayton; Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz; Irvin and Kenneth Feld; Flora Whitney Miller. More than 500 individuals from 26 states and abroad also contributed to the campaign 83.36.1-72. © 2026 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Gus Powell

Last chance

High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100
Through Mar 9
Learn more about the exhibition Book Tickets
A large group of people dance together outdoors, raising their arms, while others watch and walk nearby.

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The Whitney Biennial is the longest-running survey of American art, and has been a hallmark of the Museum since 1932. The current format—a survey show of work in all media occurring every two years—has been in place since 1973. Mark your calendars for the next iteration, opening March 2026. 

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artport

Check out art that's created specifically for the web on artport—the Whitney's gallery space for Internet and new-media art.

Dive Into Our Collection

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  • Camera on tripod faces a white wall collage showing a person's legs and small photos.
    Camera on tripod faces a white wall collage showing a person's legs and small photos.

    Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Self-Portrait Study with Roses at Night (1709), 2015. Inkjet print, sheet: 87 5/16 × 60 1/16 in. (221.8 × 152.6 cm) Image: 83 7/8 × 59 5/8 in. (213 × 151.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Photography Committee 2017.59. © Paul Mpagi Sepuya

  • Strings of hanging light bulbs cascade down a stairwell, with several bulbs coiled on the floor.
    Strings of hanging light bulbs cascade down a stairwell, with several bulbs coiled on the floor.

    Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled" (America), 1994. Twelve parts, each: 42 light bulbs, waterproof rubber light sockets, and waterproof electrical cord, dimensions variable . Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee 96.74.1a-l. © The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation, Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York

  • Abstract figure with colorful hair and various objects attached. Text reads "SHE'S HiT" at the top.
    Abstract figure with colorful hair and various objects attached. Text reads "SHE'S HiT" at the top.

    Jim Nutt, She's Hit, 1967. Acrylic on plexiglass, with wood frame, overall: 36 × 24 in. (91.4 × 61 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Larry Aldrich Foundation Fund 69.101

  • Bold text reads I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF STRENGTH LEFT against a geometric pattern and framed by bead-like metal tacks
    Bold text reads I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF STRENGTH LEFT against a geometric pattern and framed by bead-like metal tacks

    Jeffrey Gibson, I Know You Have A Lot of Strength Left, 2017. Rawhide, acrylic, graphite, metal tacks, and canvas on panel, overall: 82 1/8 × 65 1/8 × 2 3/4 in. (208.6 × 165.4 × 7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of the artist 2018.40. © Jeffrey Gibson

  • Orange reclining nude silhouette leans back beside a blue window against an olive background.
    Orange reclining nude silhouette leans back beside a blue window against an olive background.

    Kay WalkingStick, April Contemplating May, 1972. Acrylic on canvas, overall: 49 7/8 × 49 7/8 in. (126.7 × 126.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee 2018.138. © Kay WalkingStick

  • A series of fire hoses arranged vertically, painted in various shades of blue, green, orange, and white
    A series of fire hoses arranged vertically, painted in various shades of blue, green, orange, and white

    Theaster Gates, Minority Majority, 2012. Decommissioned fire hoses and vinyl on plywood, overall: 66 × 111 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (167.6 × 283.2 × 9.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Barbara and Michael Gamson 2016.262

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Frank WANG Yefeng, The Levitating Perils #2

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.